If we leave California... where to?

[chiguirre]

1 hour ago, KrissiK said:

No, not simple complete solutions, but things could have been done, like more storage built that could have eased the problem. I live right next to one of the rivers that flooded last winter because they had to let water out of the dams and it made me sick. We do conserve. As a family we conserve as much as we possibly can... we obey the watering day schedule, we have low-flow everything, water conserving dishwasher and washIng machine, but when a non-indigenous fish gets more rights than the people of this state, and the people in charge do nothing on their end to help except place heavier burdens on us and more fines....

You're allowed to water your lawn with a water shortage? In Houston, we got the Watering Ban signs during our last drought (the year before the first of the three 500 year floods we've had in the last three years). There's no fine, but our water rates depend on usage and go up drastically if you exceed "normal" use.

[shawthorne44]

 

North of Dallas is seeing a ton of Californians move in.   I read an article that the flavor (wasn't the word they used) of Plano, TX is changing because of all the Californians moving in.  Between the Toyota plant moving in from California and people like you, the area is flooded with Californians.   The humidity isn't bad at all.  

My dad lives in Arlington, TX.  He says, "If the weather were any nicer, I couldn't afford to live here."   

[maize]

For those concerned about water usage limits--is it yard care that is the issue?

I'm a bit befuddled because my family comes out at less than 25 gallons per person per day for household usage. Some of my people are little but we would still be under 50 gallons per day at our current usage levels if there were 5 of us rather than 9. That is our normal, not trying to be exceptionally water frugal usage.

I've lived where all water had to be trucked in so I think my idea of minimizing water usage is different from many.

[Jen500]

5 minutes ago, maize said:

For those concerned about water usage limits--is it yard care that is the issue?

I'm a bit befuddled because my family comes out at less than 25 gallons per person per day for household usage. Some of my people are little but we would still be under 50 gallons per day at our current usage levels if there were 5 of us rather than 9. That is our normal, not trying to be exceptionally water frugal usage.

I've lived where all water had to be trucked in so I think my idea of minimizing water usage is different from many.

I was wondering too. Our indoor water use is much less than 50 gallons per person per day and I do a lot of laundry, dishwasher use, showers etc. I don't understand the talk of not being able to shower and do laundry on the same day....

[Lanny]

7 minutes ago, maize said:

For those concerned about water usage limits--is it yard care that is the issue?

I'm a bit befuddled because my family comes out at less than 25 gallons per person per day for household usage. Some of my people are little but we would still be under 50 gallons per day at our current usage levels if there were 5 of us rather than 9. That is our normal, not trying to be exceptionally water frugal usage.

I've lived where all water had to be trucked in so I think my idea of minimizing water usage is different from many.

 

No it is total water consumption. Don't flush the toilet. Don't wash your dishes. Don't wash your clothes. Don't take a shower.  I think possibly the people are going to get tired of that, rapidly.

[KrissiK]

1 hour ago, Amber in SJ said:

I have issues with the names of the proposed new states.

So......Fresno is in northern Southern California,  San Jose is in southern Northern California and LA is in southern California, but not in Southern California?

?

Amber in SJ (in plain ole California that I adore and will only leave kicking & screaming or if all my hypothetical grandchildren live too far away, but really who wouldn't want to go visit Grammy in California?)

I know, right? Plain old California they were referring to as Coastal California. It’s an interesting way of dividing things up. I think they’re the ones who would really get screwed because they wouldn’t have any natural sources of water or energy. 

[Lanny]

There was mention upthread of Plano TX and Arlington TX. I lived in both cities. Much longer in Plano than in Arlington. Many years ago, on the front page of the Plano newspaper, was an article that amazed and saddened me. The average age of heart attack victims there was 35. Too young...

That was way before ToyotaUSA announced the move of their U.S. HQ from CA to Plano and long before other well known companies began moving to Plano.

That's North Central Texas and I consider it humid, but everything is air conditioned. 

Another place that might be of interest to the OP is TN.  I'm not sure about the humidity and that would vary with location, but there are some nice places in TN.

[Liz CA]

2 hours ago, Lanny said:

Reading about the Water Rationing in CA (I forgot this will probably prevent people from washing clothes too)  it is really a Tax.  Go above what is permitted usage and they will charge extra and the $ will go to Sacramento.  How are the people in CA going to cope with not flushing the toilet, not taking showers, not washing dishes, not washing clothes? They will use more water than permitted and they will pay a tax for exceeding their limit.

Part of this seems to go bak to the 1970s, when they decided not to build more Reservoirs, to capture the water that comes when the Snow melts. That's where most of the drinking water comes from in CA?  And in recent years, when there was less snowfall than anticipated, that exacerbated the water problem.

As always, complex issues do not have simple solutions. 

 

In other words, everyone knows full and well that this so-called consumption goal is unreachable and that those that are paying for water, will not be able to avoid the surcharge. 

I am on well water, we'll see how they will finagle getting control of ground water sources. I am sure someone will come up with an attempt to do so.

[Lanny]

LIZ CA  you are very lucky to be on well water.  I hope they don't know where you live...

[maize]

17 minutes ago, Lanny said:

 

No it is total water consumption. Don't flush the toilet. Don't wash your dishes. Don't wash your clothes. Don't take a shower.  I think possibly the people are going to get tired of that, rapidly.

But that's the thing.

We flush the toilet

We wash our dishes

We wash our clothes.

We shower.

And our usage is no where near 50 gallons per person per day.

Yes there might be a particular day when you take a longer shower or do a whole week's worth of laundry and that day is over 50 gallons of use, but water metering is monthly not daily so it only needs to average out to 50 gallons or less per day. If you washed all your clothes today you don't need to use water for laundry tomorrow at all.

 

[Liz CA]

24 minutes ago, Jen500 said:

I was wondering too. Our indoor water use is much less than 50 gallons per person per day and I do a lot of laundry, dishwasher use, showers etc. I don't understand the talk of not being able to shower and do laundry on the same day....

 

Yard care and personal gardens and maintaining green spaces would be an issue. Without any water, our grass or green areas turn yellow brown end of May / early June depending on temps. We typically don't have any rainfall to speak of between May and November. And we drink a lot of water in the summer because around here it's F 98 and up....:)

During past years of drought, everyone had yellow/brown lawns and there was the "if it's yellow let it mellow" rule for the bathroom...

[maize]

Just now, Liz CA said:

 

Yard care and care, personal gardens and maintaining green spaces would be an issue. Without any water, our grass or green areas turn yellow brown end of May / early June depending on temps. We typically don't have any rainfall to speak of between May and November. And we drink a lot of water in the summer because around here it's F 98 and up....:)

So this was my guess--yard care.

Lawns are the great American luxury and a ridiculous waste of resources in arid places (also responsible for a great deal of non environmentally friendly chemical pollution everywhere).

My garden I'm much more protective of, but drip systems are water efficient and work well for home gardens and even landscaping.

Other than grass!

[Pawz4me]

 

42 minutes ago, maize said:

For those concerned about water usage limits--is it yard care that is the issue?

I'm a bit befuddled because my family comes out at less than 25 gallons per person per day for household usage. Some of my people are little but we would still be under 50 gallons per day at our current usage levels if there were 5 of us rather than 9. That is our normal, not trying to be exceptionally water frugal usage.

I've lived where all water had to be trucked in so I think my idea of minimizing water usage is different from many.

 

33 minutes ago, Jen500 said:

I was wondering too. Our indoor water use is much less than 50 gallons per person per day and I do a lot of laundry, dishwasher use, showers etc. I don't understand the talk of not being able to shower and do laundry on the same day....

 

16 minutes ago, maize said:

But that's the thing.

We flush the toilet

We wash our dishes

We wash our clothes.

We shower.

And our usage is no where near 50 gallons per person per day.

Yes there might be a particular day when you take a longer shower or do a whole week's worth of laundry and that day is over 50 gallons of use, but water metering is monthly not daily so it only needs to average out to 50 gallons or less per day. If you washed all your clothes today you don't need to use water for laundry tomorrow at all.

 

I was wondering the same thing. I don't know what I'm missing (if anything), but 50 gallons per day per person seems extremely generous to me. I can't imagine having a problem adhering to that limit and we aren't anywhere near conservative in our water usage. We do use a front load washing machine, but we take plenty of long showers, flush toilets every time they're used, water plants (including a tree and six hostas we planted this year),  and we still don't come close to using that much water. Shoot, we even drink water and use it to make iced tea (by the gallon) and coffee.

We do not, however, water our grass. That's just way too wasteful for us. Plus here if we hit a dry spell (which is pretty typical during July and August) -- so what? Sure the grass will turn brown and look dead, but it revives as soon as we get a good rain. A dry spell just means I get to take a break from mowing. And that's a good thing. ? 

[maize]

As for drinking water, even when it is hot and people are physically active I doubt there are many chugging down more than a couple of gallons per day. 

[Liz CA]

6 minutes ago, maize said:

So this was my guess--yard care.

Lawns are the great American luxury and a ridiculous waste of resources in arid places (also responsible for a great deal of non environmentally friendly chemical pollution everywhere).

My garden I'm much more protective of, but drip systems are water efficient and work well for home gardens and even landscaping.

Other than grass!

 

Not sure if all watering here is a luxury. Think of this: Acres of walnut orchards, pistachios, almonds, peaches, and who knows what else are grown in the CA valley. They all require water. I am not sure it's about the individual being "yard proud" (I live in an orchard and we never water our grass (it's more like weeds and we are on well water) but also about agricultural resources that we are relying on. In recent years (last 15 or so) there has been technology encouraged to use more recycled water but I don't know if it's meeting the need.

[Liz CA]

6 minutes ago, maize said:

As for drinking water, even when it is hot and people are physically active I doubt there are many chugging down more than a couple of gallons per day. 

 

I was kind of joking about this but we have no good smileys anymore to signal this. I am sure Texans and people in humid  regions drink a fair amount as well.

[KungFuPanda]

2 minutes ago, Liz CA said:

 

I was kind of joking about this but we have no good smileys anymore to signal this. I am sure Texans and people in humid  regions drink a fair amount as well.

Maybe more because they FEEL hotter and sweatier at 98 degrees. 

[Pawz4me]

4 minutes ago, Liz CA said:

 

Not sure if all watering here is a luxury. Think of this: Acres of walnut orchards, pistachios, almonds, peaches, and who knows what else are grown in the CA valley. They all require water. I am not sure it's about the individual being "yard proud" (I live in an orchard and we never water our grass (it's more like weeds and we are on well water) but also about agricultural resources that we are relying on. In recent years (last 15 or so) there has been technology encouraged to use more recycled water but I don't know if it's meeting the need.

But I thought the limit was for personal use? I haven't read all the links, but I don't recall that this applied to businesses? And I assume most of the walnut orchards, almonds, etc. are grown by businesses?

[Liz CA]

12 minutes ago, Pawz4me said:

But I thought the limit was for personal use? I haven't read all the links, but I don't recall that this applied to businesses? And I assume most of the walnut orchards, almonds, etc. are grown by businesses?

 

I'd have to research this. Don't know if an individual who owns a few acres qualifies for business / ag use or not or if it depends on minimum acreage or if you are selling to a processor. ETA: Just checked quickly and found one article (need to look at more when I have time) that says so far ag use is not included in this particular mandatory rationing but is expected to be addressed at some point.

Here is something from an older article:

That's particularly a looming issue for California's agricultural sector, which is responsible for about half the fruits and vegetables grown in the United States, including the vast majority of almonds, broccoli, strawberries, and grapes. Agriculture uses about 80 percent of the state's developed water supply — four times as much as all the towns and cities put together.* And it's now under strain.

This year, for the second year in a row, many of California's farmers won't receive any waterfrom the Central Valley Project, which allocates water from the state's reservoirs. Last year, more than 400,000 acres of farmland in the Central Valley were left fallow after this happened.

However, with overall relative water scarcity combined with lack of foresight for water storage, this issue ultimately affects everyone.

[maize]

Farm irrigation water is separate from potable water most places (unless you are using your own well). It doesn't need to meet potable water standards so can be less processed.

It is absolutely true that the overall water shortage issue affects agriculture. But the 55/50 gallon household potable water usage rules are not relevant other than as a means of freeing up more water for agricultural use.

Using treated potable water for home gardens can get quite expensive even without limits and fines--drip systems become a good investment.

[Liz CA]

1 minute ago, maize said:

Farm irrigation water is separate from potable water most places (unless you are using your own well). It doesn't need to meet potable water standards so can be less processed.

It is absolutely true that the overall water shortage issue affects agriculture. But the 55/50 gallon household potable water usage rules are not relevant.

Using treated potable water for home gardens can get quite expensive even without limits and fines--drip systems become a good investment.

 

There are actually subsidies in place to encourage farmers to install drip systems. As few as 5 years ago, the peach orchards would be still be "flooded" at certain intervals. This meant ditches were dug between the rows of trees and water would be piped in there. Now I hardly see this practice anymore as most of them have installed drip systems. Ditto for the walnut orchard behind my house. Procedural changes are being implemented but you know change can be slow and it's often costly initially even if the ultimate pay-off is well worth it.

[SamanthaCarter]

Honest question, why isn't CA doing water desalination? Don't they do this in the Middle East and in Australia? They've got the longest coastline of any state except maybe Alaska and Florida. 

[KrissiK]

46 minutes ago, Liz CA said:

 

Yard care and personal gardens and maintaining green spaces would be an issue. Without any water, our grass or green areas turn yellow brown end of May / early June depending on temps. We typically don't have any rainfall to speak of between May and November. And we drink a lot of water in the summer because around here it's F 98 and up....:)

During past years of drought, everyone had yellow/brown lawns and there was the "if it's yellow let it mellow" rule for the bathroom...

And people talk about how you don’t need lawns, etc. Well, I am willing to concede that to a point. A lot of people in our neighborhood have been putting in drought tolerant landscaping and it does look nice. But trees are important, not just for aesthetics, but planting trees on the west side of the house does a lot to keep your house cool and save energy during the summer. And trees take water. And gardens. When it’s 100+ degrees during the summer my garden needs water every day. Do they not want us to garden? I guess we could buy our produce in the grocery store, but.... oh wait. There won’t be produce there because the farmers don’t have enough water for their crops..

 

[KrissiK]

2 minutes ago, SamanthaCarter said:

Honest question, why isn't CA doing water desalination? Don't they do this in the Middle East and in Australia? They've got the longest coastline of any state except maybe Alaska and Florida. 

That comes up a lot. And they say it costs too much.

[Liz CA]

2 minutes ago, KrissiK said:

That comes up a lot. And they say it costs too much.

 

Yes, I have heard this thrown around as well. I wonder if someone has done a cost / benefit analysis and if - in the long run - it wouldn't be worth it?

[Ravin]

1 hour ago, Liz CA said:

 

Not sure if all watering here is a luxury. Think of this: Acres of walnut orchards, pistachios, almonds, peaches, and who knows what else are grown in the CA valley. They all require water. I am not sure it's about the individual being "yard proud" (I live in an orchard and we never water our grass (it's more like weeds and we are on well water) but also about agricultural resources that we are relying on. In recent years (last 15 or so) there has been technology encouraged to use more recycled water but I don't know if it's meeting the need.

 

The "use it or lose it" water rights thing disincentivizes shifting to more efficient agricultural water use. That's finally starting to change in California, through creating incentives and/or guarantees so that farmers can become more water efficient during drought without losing their place in line for water when there's more of it available.

[shinyhappypeople]

Thoughts about the water issue: poor and middle income families are the ones who will be affected.  Those with higher incomes might try if they want, but have the extra income to deal with financial penalties.  As usual.

Here's a water calculator that is interesting.  For us, could we do it with our indoor 6,600 gallons a month ration?  According to the calculator... barely.  If we make no mistakes.  And since the calculator is just an estimate, I can assume that we'll go a bit over just doing normal daily things.  I do wonder if they base some of their calculations like number of toilet flushes and hand washing on families who are out of the house 8 hours a day.  Our current metered limit is over 30,000 gallons a month and we never get close to that.  The "to be determined" outdoor limits will be interesting.  I'm not optimistic, because ... California.

It feels like death by a thousand paper cuts.  This water thing is just the most recent in a long line of taxes and regulations to come down the pike. The whole thing about our government wasting water to preserve a non-indigenous fish is absolutely symbolic of our legislators' screwed up priorities.  I'm broken.  I'm tired.  I want out.   

[SanDiegoMom]

53 minutes ago, KrissiK said:

And people talk about how you don’t need lawns, etc. Well, I am willing to concede that to a point. A lot of people in our neighborhood have been putting in drought tolerant landscaping and it does look nice. But trees are important, not just for aesthetics, but planting trees on the west side of the house does a lot to keep your house cool and save energy during the summer. And trees take water. And gardens. When it’s 100+ degrees during the summer my garden needs water every day. Do they not want us to garden? I guess we could buy our produce in the grocery store, but.... oh wait. There won’t be produce there because the farmers don’t have enough water for their crops..

 

 

When we lived in San Diego we had some friends create a hydroponic garden that was pretty awesome and used a lot less water. Fake lawns and xeriscaping also were taking over. I also knew people that had grey water recapture systems that were pretty sweet, and they used the water for their gardens.  

[KrissiK]

21 minutes ago, shinyhappypeople said:

Thoughts about the water issue: poor and middle income families are the ones who will be affected.  Those with higher incomes might try if they want, but have the extra income to deal with financial penalties.  As usual.

Here's a water calculator that is interesting.  For us, could we do it with our indoor 6,600 gallons a month ration?  According to the calculator... barely.  If we make no mistakes.  And since the calculator is just an estimate, I can assume that we'll go a bit over just doing normal daily things.  I do wonder if they base some of their calculations like number of toilet flushes and hand washing on families who are out of the house 8 hours a day.  Our current metered limit is over 30,000 gallons a month and we never get close to that.  The "to be determined" outdoor limits will be interesting.  I'm not optimistic, because ... California.

It feels like death by a thousand paper cuts.  This water thing is just the most recent in a long line of taxes and regulations to come down the pike. The whole thing about our government wasting water to preserve a non-indigenous fish is absolutely symbolic of our legislators' screwed up priorities.  I'm broken.  I'm tired.  I want out.   

You make an excellent point about the middle income and poor. Where we live, San Joaquin Valley, people are poor. There’s a lot of poverty. The signs on the freeway that 40% of Californians are on Medi-Cal makes a statement about income. People don’t have the $ to re-do their homes with low-flow everything and/or pay the fines. If the government wants that done, they’re going to end up paying for it, with......wait for it..... tax $ collected from......... the rest of us.

[shinyhappypeople]

5 minutes ago, KrissiK said:

You make an excellent point about the middle income and poor. Where we live, San Joaquin Valley, people are poor. There’s a lot of poverty. The signs on the freeway that 40% of Californians are on Medi-Cal makes a statement about income. People don’t have the $ to re-do their homes with low-flow everything and/or pay the fines. If the government wants that done, they’re going to end up paying for it, with......wait for it..... tax $ collected from......... the rest of us.

 

Those signs, right?! Like seriously, that's nothing to be proud of y'all!  Our county is 50% on Medi-Cal. (We're just down the road from you) The implied threat of the signs is "Vote for the majority party or you'll lose your health coverage."  Which isn't true but, there's nothing to be done about that nonsense. 

So... yeah.  Exactly what you said. Create a problem for lower income families (in this case water usage), create a program to "solve" the problem (we're from the government and we're here to help!), and you've theoretically increased the number of people who feel like if they don't vote for the majority party they'll be lost and unable to function.  And the cycle continues. 

[maize]

1 hour ago, shinyhappypeople said:

Thoughts about the water issue: poor and middle income families are the ones who will be affected.  Those with higher incomes might try if they want, but have the extra income to deal with financial penalties.  As usual.

Here's a water calculator that is interesting.  For us, could we do it with our indoor 6,600 gallons a month ration?  According to the calculator... barely.  If we make no mistakes.  And since the calculator is just an estimate, I can assume that we'll go a bit over just doing normal daily things.  I do wonder if they base some of their calculations like number of toilet flushes and hand washing on families who are out of the house 8 hours a day.  Our current metered limit is over 30,000 gallons a month and we never get close to that.  The "to be determined" outdoor limits will be interesting.  I'm not optimistic, because ... California.

It feels like death by a thousand paper cuts.  This water thing is just the most recent in a long line of taxes and regulations to come down the pike. The whole thing about our government wasting water to preserve a non-indigenous fish is absolutely symbolic of our legislators' screwed up priorities.  I'm broken.  I'm tired.  I want out.   

I really am puzzled. My family of 9 averages 7000 gallons per month. I went back over the past year's water bills and even in our highest month we didn't hit 50 gallons/day/person.

Our home was built in 1985, I don't think we have low flow everything. I do have a front loading washing machine.

[sassenach]

5 hours ago, DawnM said:

 

And California?  We are from LA County and I would love to move back there, although DH is getting job opportunities in NorCal right now.....and nothing in LA.  GRRR!!!!!!

 

Have you ever lived up here? I'm a native Southern Californian and I really love living in NorCal.

[DawnM]

1 minute ago, sassenach said:

Have you ever lived up here? I'm a native Southern Californian and I really love living in NorCal.

 

I have not.  I have  friends and some cousins up there and have visited several times, but I have not lived there.

The jobs are in the San Jose/Sunnyvale area. 

[ktgrok]

16 minutes ago, maize said:

I really am puzzled. My family of 9 averages 7000 gallons per month. I went back over the past year's water bills and even in our highest month we didn't hit 50 gallons/day/person.

Our home was built in 1985, I don't think we have low flow everything. I do have a front loading washing machine.

Yeah, I just checked and even with cloth diapers, a non eco friendly washer, etc we are below 50 gal per person per day

[DawnM]

I currently have no idea how much water we use.  We are on a well.   No water bills.  However, I grew up in an area where we often had drought.  I can take a shower in a bucket with 6" of water in it, including washing my hair.  I amaze my friends when I explain what we had to do when I was a kid!  ?

However, if we move back to CA, my middle son is in for a rude awakening with showers.....that boy loves hot showers, LONG hot showers.

[SeaConquest]

4 hours ago, Lanny said:

 

No it is total water consumption. Don't flush the toilet. Don't wash your dishes. Don't wash your clothes. Don't take a shower.  I think possibly the people are going to get tired of that, rapidly.

 

Where are you getting this information? I've lived in CA most of my life and I've never had to ration water. Maybe if I had a large yard or something, but none of what you're describing is reality. We have a boat and RV (with a dishwasher, washer/dryer,  and a tankless water heater), and don't ration water on board at all. We use about 50 gallons of water per day for a family of 4. 

[DawnM]

6 minutes ago, SeaConquest said:

 

Where are you getting this information? I've lived in CA most of my life and I've never had to ration water. Maybe if I had a large yard or something, but none of what you're describing is reality. We have a boat and RV (with a dishwasher, washer/dryer,  and a tankless water heater), and don't ration water on board at all. We use about 50 gallons of water per day for a family of 4. 

 

We were rationed in SoCal and my BIL, who lives there now, says if they go over a certain amount there is a huge fine.  I forgot what the amount was though.

But it was enough to wash dishes, flush toilets, do laundry, and shower.

[SeaConquest]

Just now, DawnM said:

 

We were rationed in SoCal and my BIL, who lives there now, says if they go over a certain amount there is a huge fine.  I forgot what the amount was though.

 

I live in San Diego and, like I said, perhaps if I had a huge property it would be an issue, but not for day to day living. The largest home I've had has been over 3500 sq. feet and still never had a problem.

[Lanny]

6 minutes ago, SeaConquest said:

 

Where are you getting this information? I've lived in CA most of my life and I've never had to ration water. Maybe if I had a large yard or something, but none of what you're describing is reality. We have a boat and RV (with a dishwasher, washer/dryer,  and a tankless water heater), and don't ration water on board at all. We use about 50 gallons of water per day for a family of 4. 

 

Hi: I am not sure about people who live on boats full-time, as your family does, but if you lived in a house, this would certainly affect your family. I believe it was signed into law in Sacramento a week or 2 ago.  You can Google it and will probably come up with it on various news web sites. People who live in Single family houses (and probably in apartments also) will find out what the reality is. Probably soon.

[SeaConquest]

Again, I haven't lived on board a boat or in an RV my whole life. I can tell you that I have never had any issues with my water bills in any place I've ever lived in Southern or Northern California.

[DawnM]

https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/05/31/california-drought-jerry-brown-sets-permanent-water-conservation-rules-with-new-laws/

I assume this is what Lanny is referring to.  It isn't going to change a whole lot and not immediate.  

DH's work and my work do have showers, although at my work no one uses them anymore (school), but hey, not a bad option so you don't use your own water!  HA!

[SeaConquest]

2 minutes ago, DawnM said:

https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/05/31/california-drought-jerry-brown-sets-permanent-water-conservation-rules-with-new-laws/

I assume this is what Lanny is referring to.  It isn't going to change a whole lot and not immediate.  

DH's work and my work do have showers, although at my work no one uses them anymore (school), but hey, not a bad option so you don't use your own water!  HA!

 

Sounds wise to me. Besides, succulents are beautiful. ?

[regentrude]

12 minutes ago, Lanny said:

Hi: I am not sure about people who live on boats full-time, as your family does, but if you lived in a house, this would certainly affect your family. I believe it was signed into law in Sacramento a week or 2 ago.  You can Google it and will probably come up with it on various news web sites. People who live in Single family houses (and probably in apartments also) will find out what the reality is. Probably soon.

Why does a person need to use more than 50 gallons per day for personal use??? This is plenty for household use. And get rid of lawns in places that don't naturally support grass. 

[Lanny]

1 minute ago, regentrude said:

Why does a person need to use more than 50 gallons per day for personal use??? This is plenty for household use. And get rid of lawns in places that don't naturally support grass. 

 

I read  somewhere, probably yesterday or today, that some organization, possibly in the U.N., says that 100 gallons per day is more probable, with regard to daily use of water by a household member. It takes a huge amount of gallons of water, for example, to fill up a bathtub.  All of the consumption adds up.  This new tax in CA doesn't seem to include people who might want to wash their car or water their lawn.  It will be interesting to see how this works out when it is implemented.

[regentrude]

16 minutes ago, Lanny said:

I read  somewhere, probably yesterday or today, that some organization, possibly in the U.N., says that 100 gallons per day is more probable, with regard to daily use of water by a household member. It takes a huge amount of gallons of water, for example, to fill up a bathtub.  All of the consumption adds up.  This new tax in CA doesn't seem to include people who might want to wash their car or water their lawn.  It will be interesting to see how this works out when it is implemented.

The UN??? I highly doubt people elsewhere in the world are using as much water as people in the US.

Over the span of 10+ years, our family of 4 has consistently averaged around 3,000 gallons per month, so 25 gallons per person per day (we check our water use on the utility bill every month to be able to spot leakage). Consumption increases when we have long term overnight visitors and decreased as the kids departed for college. This was ample water to keep ourselves, clothes, dishes and home clean. We are not in a drought area and thus have not taken any extra measures to reduce water use beyond the common sense, easy to implement ones. We live in 30 y/o a single family home and have a cheap, low end washing machine and no fancy fixtures. 

ETA: If there is drought, people should not be allowed to waste water on lawns.

[Roadrunner]

5 hours ago, Lanny said:

 

No it is total water consumption. Don't flush the toilet. Don't wash your dishes. Don't wash your clothes. Don't take a shower.  I think possibly the people are going to get tired of that, rapidly.

Who isn’t flushing toilets or taking showers? We do every single thing you mentioned and maintain plants that are mostly native to the area and we always end up under the limit. I think this is sensationalism and simply untrue.

Having said that though, there have been some issues in Central Valley for families depending on well water, especially in agricultural areas. Apparently commercial farms have been digging deeper to pump water during the drought, drying up wells in their vicinity. Those are isolated areas and certainly don’t represent the picture of life in CA.

[shinyhappypeople]

41 minutes ago, regentrude said:

The UN??? I highly doubt people elsewhere in the world are using as much water as people in the US.

Over the span of 10+ years, our family of 4 has consistently averaged around 3,000 gallons per month, so 25 gallons per person per day (we check our water use on the utility bill every month to be able to spot leakage). Consumption increases when we have long term overnight visitors and decreased as the kids departed for college. This was ample water to keep ourselves, clothes, dishes and home clean. We are not in a drought area and thus have not taken any extra measures to reduce water use beyond the common sense, easy to implement ones. We live in 30 y/o a single family home and have a cheap, low end washing machine and no fancy fixtures. 

ETA: If there is drought, people should not be allowed to waste water on lawns.

Lawns have a cooling effect, so in hot regions like where I am, it's definitely not a waste.  (Benefits of Lawns)  We're under watering restrictions, which we comply with, but I'm happy to use some water to keep our grass and trees healthy.

[regentrude]

5 minutes ago, shinyhappypeople said:

Lawns have a cooling effect, so in hot regions like where I am, it's definitely not a waste.  (Benefits of Lawns)  

You quote the website of an organization whose sole purpose is the promotion of turfgrass ?

Landscaping with native plants and shrubs that are adapted to an arid climate has a cooling effect as well.

[ktgrok]

1 hour ago, Lanny said:

 

Hi: I am not sure about people who live on boats full-time, as your family does, but if you lived in a house, this would certainly affect your family. I believe it was signed into law in Sacramento a week or 2 ago.  You can Google it and will probably come up with it on various news web sites. People who live in Single family houses (and probably in apartments also) will find out what the reality is. Probably soon.

Lanny, we are telling you that this amount will NOT be a hardship for people as far as doing dishes and flushing toilets. I just checked my water meter readings and we use slightly over half of the allowed limit. With a garden yes we'd use more, but I can't imagine more than double what we do now, especially with drip irrigation. 

50 gallons per person a day is plenty of water for daily living. 

[ktgrok]

1 hour ago, Lanny said:

 

I read  somewhere, probably yesterday or today, that some organization, possibly in the U.N., says that 100 gallons per day is more probable, with regard to daily use of water by a household member. It takes a huge amount of gallons of water, for example, to fill up a bathtub.  All of the consumption adds up.  This new tax in CA doesn't seem to include people who might want to wash their car or water their lawn.  It will be interesting to see how this works out when it is implemented.

WHAT??? No way. Not unless yeah, you are watering a lawn which is not good sense in a drought. 

neither is frequent car washing, although it uses less water to do it at a commercial car wash. They capture the water used, filter it, and reuse it. (Florida has droughts too, so familiar with water restrictions)